<p>Hi I'm a 22 year old International Applicant currently residing in Canada.
I've been working as a data management clerk at a firm and a dental receptionist for a couple of years now due to family circumstances. I've been taking courses and such from the local high school curriculum and as a part time student at local universities.
I guess my question is are there any succes stories of older age applicants getting into Harvard that are from other countries?
I'm a possible Asian applicant with interest in philosophy, history, and the sciences.
I've been trying to read up on some success stories but most successful applicants from Canada seem to be budding sports recruits.
Would Harvard consider me even if I required financial aid?
Any referrals to books about international success stories would be highly appreciated.</p>
<p>Unless late bloomers have something major going for them -- billionaire parents, an unusual documented talent, overcoming a major hardship (such as being survivors of the war in Darfur) my bet is that Harvard has such an overabundance of students with consistently excellent records that Harvard has no reason to accept late bloomers from any country.</p>
<p>I'd imagine that you'd have better luck getting into a university in your home country or Canada.</p>
<p>Of course, I don't know you and I'm not an admissions officer at Harvard, so don't take my words or anyone else's here as gospel. The only thing that will guarantee your not getting in would be if you don't apply. Just make sure that you have back-ups where you know you'll get accepted and also can afford.</p>
<p>hey yayatime, I think u should try anyways.. there is always a chance!..</p>
<p>Hi yayatime-</p>
<p>I'm a student at Harvard, and I actually know (or know of) a few students that are older and come from other countries. By far the most common are students that came from countries with mandatory military service after high school (like Israel), but there are apparently a few students in their 20s that applied after taking a few years off.</p>
<p>I'm not positive about specifics, but from what I can see, it's possible.</p>
<p>Also- Harvard is DEFINITELY not going to reject you because of financial aid requirements- they are completely need-blind.</p>
<p>I agree with admiral that Harvard accepts some older students.
If by "late bloomer," you mean that you had excellent high school grades and stats, but took a few years off to work before going to college, then I doubt that would hurt you. Indeed, it may make you stand out. </p>
<p>However, if by "late bloomer," you mean that you had weak stats in h.s. (or throughout most of high school) and got motivated to go to college after working some ordinary jobs and taking a couple of courses in which you did well, my guess is that you'd be overshadowed by applicants who had consistently excellent records.</p>
<p>Heck, Olympic gold medal holder Joey Cheeks was rejected from Harvard.</p>
<p>However, the only way that you'll know if you can get in is to apply, so go for it, doing the best app you can, and making sure that you have back-ups you can afford and will definitely get accepted to.</p>
<p>Hi yayatime,
If you want to attend Harvard, my suggestion is to look into the Harvard Extension School. Go to the Harvard website, and look under "Continuing Education" and you'll find it there. If your academic performance is very good, then you could enroll up to 2 classes a semester at Harvard College as a special student. </p>
<p>This is the only real opportunity that would allow you to access the academic resources that Harvard provides. Check it out!!!</p>
<p>I have a 3.6+ gpa from high school if you don't count the grades I received for incomplete classes, since there was a year in which I had to dropout and work. I'll be taking my SATs soon as well and from practice tests I'm expecting at least a 2100+ total score. My transcript isn't exactly spectaculr but it's not horrible either. Anyways thank you for your posts, I was just wondering how much it would take to be financially supported as a Harvard student, with the universities well funded endowment.</p>
<p>Harvard is need-blind, so it doesnt matter how much money you need. They make their decision based soley on you, not how much you can pay. My advice is give it a try.. otherwise you'll always wonder.</p>
<p>"Having to drop out of school and work" could impress colleges since it seemed you faced unusual hardship.</p>
<p>Whether that will be enough to get you into H, who knows? So, do also apply to other U.S. colleges with good aid for internationals. There's a thread pinned to the top of the financial aid board here that has scholarship info for internationals.</p>
<p>if you are an international, you might also want to take a look at Williams and Middlebury college that are less well-known to the internationals. they are need-blind toward internationals as well. in fact, those schools are two out of six or so colleges that are need-blind in america, which is pretty sad... they will award you full financial aid if its necessary for you. also, they are EXCELLENT, among the top top 10 liberal arts colleges in america.
also, your age will have NOTHING to do with the admissions process. in fact, quite a lot of internationals are a bit older than regular american applicants for many reasons (military requirements, semester disparities, etc). if you read carefully their admission policy/ivy league joint statement (i don't remember what they are called), they will specifically say that among many things such as gender, race, etc, age is not a factor in the admissions process... although it is true that there always seems to be issues with the race part, i don't think being a bit older would matter... in fact, people decide to defer matriculating, making them older when they come back, right? so don't worry... i also don't think the admissions will have time to check your age and say, "oh i think he is too old for our school" =) so chill, pray, God will make a way!</p>
<p>What about the Columbia General Studies Program? It is designed for late comers, and you take classes with all of the other Columbia Students. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses.
Yes I am considering other schools other than Harvard. I will definitely look into the schools you have mentioned.
Thanks again.</p>